Combination tooth inspecting mirror and floss cap



H. R. PRIEST April 12, 1932.

COMBINATION TOOTH INSPECTING MIRROR AND FLOSS CAP Filed April 10, 1931 1 1?. Fries?- Patented Apr. 12, 1932 I UNITED STATES, P

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HARRY R. PRIEST, or nounonv mn, oHIo COMBINATION Too'rn msmmm .M InRoB. mnrnoss on Application filed A ril 10,

This invention'relatesto combination tooth inspecting mirrors and floss caps, and has for an object to provide a small compact device 7 of this type which may be conveniently carried in ladies handbags as well as in the pocket. i a

Afurther objectis to provide apair of disk mirrors one of which is carriedby a cylindri- 10 cal cap' which, when applied with its open side against the tongue,is firmly held inplace by the tongue projecting'into the cap so that the reflected imagesof the backs of either the upper or lower teeth may be conveniently viewedin the companionmirror held in front of the users face.

A still further object is Ito provide an assembly of a-pair of disk mirrors one of which is provided with a cylindrical flange'open at one end to rest upon the tongue of the user,:

while the companion mirror may be mounted more or less of floss, the entire device being 7 of substantially one and one-half inch more or less in length to provide a small compact assembly of the parts.

A still further object is to provide a novel cutter for the floss cap to eliminate the objectionable clogging of the usual cutter with floss wax and ends of floss, with consequent.

difliculty in cutting ofia length of the floss.

Withfthe above and'other objects in view the invention consists in certainnovel details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter fully described and claimed, it be- .ing' understood that various modifications maybe resorted to within the sco'pe'of the appended claims without departing from the spirit orsacrificing any of thea'dvantages of g the invention.

In'the accompanying part of this specification, v

Figure 1 is a perspective viewshowing the drawings forming 'of example in Fig. 1.

1931'. Serial No. 529,193. I I

mirrors in use to-view the backs of thelower teeth, v I v F 1g. 2 is a similar view, showing the posi t1on .of the tongue-engaging mirror when viewing the backs of the upper teeth,

Fig.3 is'a detail perspective view showing the component parts of the device separated,

' Figs 4 is a longitudinal sectional view through the device,

F ig'. 5 is a side elevation, partly broken away,of a modified form "of the invention, Fig. 6 is a longitudinal 1 sectional view throughamodifiedflform ofthe floss cap with mirror, and a Fig. 7 is an end elevation of the device shown in Fig. 6, with the cutter in operation.

Referring now to thedrawings in which.

like'characte'rs of reference designate similar parts 1n the various v1ews,"the preferred embodiment of theinvention is shown to comprise a cap 10 which is open at one end to re-' ceive adental fiossrefill container 11 adapted to holdlabout 108 feet of floss.

A coupling disk 13 isprovidedon opposite sides with bossesl i and 15, the boss 14 being recessed to receive a disk mirror 16 which may be eitherplainfor of" the magnifying type. *Both'bosses are exteriorly' threaded, as shown respectively at 17 and 18. The boss 15 is screwed into the cap 10 and the latter forms a grip for holding the mirror in the fingers in front of the face, as shown by way Adisk mirror 19 is providedfor viewing the backs of the teeth, and is mounted in the end of a cylindrical cap 20, the end '21 of the cap being recessed, as shown, to receive the mirror. The opposite end of the cap is open and is interiorly threaded, as shown at 22. When not inuse, the cap 20 is screwed onto the exteriorly threaded boss 14 of the coupling disk 13 and when thus assembled as best shown .in Fig. 4,"t-he entire device is of such dimensions as to occupy a space of about one and one-half inches. more or less long and approximately half an inch more or less wide, sothat the'device may be The opposite; end of the cap is interiorly threaded, as shown at 12.

conveniently carried in a handbag or in the pocket of the user.

It will be noted, as best shown in Fig. 3, that the peripheral edge 23 of the coupling disk 13 is provided with flat faces and is preferably an octagon in contour so as to be firmly gripped by the fingers when manipulating the mirror 16 in front of theiface. o

By now referring to Figs. 1 and 2, it will be seen that the open-ended cap 20 is in reality a flange projecting from the periph- I eral edge of the mirror 19,, the purpose of which is to receive the surface of the tongue when the mirror is placed in the mouthso that the tongue may be moved about without dislodging the mirror in order to properly position the mirror to view the backs of'the lowerteeth, as shown in Fig. 1, orthe backs of the upper teeth, as shown in Fig. 2.

vention but, in this instance, the mirror 24: to be held in front. of the face ispreferably countersunk in the end ofthe grip or handle 25 of a tooth cleaning and polishing device, the opposite end .of which ,is equipped with a cleaning and polishing element, designated in general by thelnumeral 26. The mirror 27,

' to be placed in the mouth, is, as above described, countersunk preferably in the end 7 wallj28 of a cylindrical cap .29 which forms a flange to" receive the tongue. Thetopen end of the cap is interi'orly threaded, as

shown at 30, toreceive exterior screw threads 31 formed on the end of the handle 25; i

In Fig.5 there is shown-another modification of the invention, in which the ,floss cap v32 is of sufiicient magnitude to contain about 10 8 feet of floss 33, and is open at'the to p v I to neceive the flange 34 of ,acap 35 inthe end face of which is countersunk a tooth inspecting mirror 36.

y In themodified the invention shown in Fig. 4 and Fig. 6, preferably I em- .ploy a novel cutter for the floss, shown best in Fig. 7. The cutter ,comprises a plate 37' which is provided'withla finger dip 38 and is above the plane of the base. In operation, "the length of dental floss to be cut ,ofl is drawn from the opening 43 in the cap and f 1 passed underneath the offset portion 4L0 of the V cutter to the opposite sidethereof' and thencedrawn forwardly, "as shown, whereupon ,a 'quick jerk will cause the edge of the oflset "portion 40 of the cutter to'severthe desired of-thefloss underneath the cutter. edge of the cutter, may be used to sever the v facility.

Fig; 5vshowsa modified form of the in-i length of floss from the supply in the cap.

By virtue ofthe cutter being offset from the base thereof, clogging of the cutter with wax and odd ends of the floss will be prevented, while also the bend in the length of floss to be out off, caused by directing the same around the offset port-ion 40 of the cutter and thence over the tip ll of the cutter, permits of a clean out being made, regardless of whether there is an'accumulat on of wax and odd ends Either length of floss from the supply with equal 7 While in the above description I have designated screw threads forming the connect ingmeans between thevvarious elements of the device, itis to be understood that smooth slip joints may be substituted therefor without sacrificing any of the advantages above pointed out.

, Having thus described the invention, I claim: 4 A i 1. In combination, a pair of tooth ins-pecting mirrors, a floss cap having a closedendjre cessed' to receive one; of the mirrors, and a grip operatively connected to saidcap and carrying the other ofsaidmirrors within said cap.

2. In combination, a pairof inspects .ing mirrors, a cap open-at one end and supporting one of said mirror-sin the opposite end, a cap forming a combined floss receptacle and gr p, a dental floss container inthe last-named cap, and a coupling disk uniting bothof said caps and supporting the other of said-'Inirrors within-"the first-named cap.

'3. In combination, a pair of tooth insfpecting mirrors, a cap supporting one o the mirrors/and forminga'marginal flangeon one side of the mirror adapted to receive the tongue of the user for .firmly anchoring the mirror against dislodgi-nent when thetongue ismovedto dispose the mirror to reflect the backs -:of the upper or thelower teeth, and a grip removably connected to said flange rand carryingthe'other of said mirrors 7 4. In combination, a pair of toothinspecting mirrors, a cap open at one end and closed at the opopsite end to receive one of'said mirrors, a second cap forming 'a receptacle, :1 dental floss container in said receptacle, and r a coupling flange having bosses on the opposite faces removably engaged in both of said caps to unite thecaps, one of said bosses being recessed to-receivethe other of said mirrors and dispose'the same within the first-named cap,'the peripheral edge of said coupling disk having flat surfaces formed thereon to facilitate firmly gripping the same in the fingers for manipulating the last-named mirror 7 in front ofthe face. r 5

5. In combination, a pair of toothinspecting mirrors, a cap open'at one end andfclosed at the opposite end, saidj-closed endj-of the cap beingrecessed to receive one of said mirrors, a tooth cleaner and polisher having the end of the handle recessed and receiving the other of said mirrors, and a connection between said handle and said cap removably securing the cap to the handle.

6. A device of the class described comprising a dental floss cap open at one end, a tooth inspecting mirror having a flange received by said open end, and a cutter on the opposite I end of the cap having an ofi'set portion provided with opposite cutting edges and termi' nating in a rounded tip over which the floss may be directed from the cap during the cuttin operation. 7 v

1% testimony whereof I afi'ix my signature.

HARRY R. PRIEST. [L. 5.] 

